Learning more about physics and chemistry was an egg-citing way for these high school students to spend the final days of their winter break.

More than 30 year 9 and 10 students from NSW schools headed to the University of Wollongong on Wednesday for the first day of the ConocoPhillips Science Experience.

One of the first activities for the budding scientists was the egg drop - determining how to best protect it from splattering all over the ground when dropped from a height.

During the three-day program there are sessions for students interested in a wide variety of fields, including health, and earth and environmental science, as well as hands-on workshops such as measuring the temperature of absolute zero and exploring DNA in the university's biology lab.

Dr Melissa Thompson, who co-ordinates the program at UOW, said students also benefited from having the university's science undergraduates mentor them.

The program aims to encourage students to choose science subjects and mathematics for their HSC and further their scientific knowledge at university.

This is the 23rd year the program, managed by the Science Schools Foundation, has been held at UOW.